[Jochen Prien]

Dear Ed West,

I fully agree with you that LiF Special No. 2 - again - is a very helpful and interesting source especially for new photos.

Concerning the rudder photo of an Fw 190 with Alfred Heckmann standing in front of it however LiF has been misled; as a matter of fact the published claims list of Alfred Heckmann - at least as far as the JFV series and the illustrated history of II./JG 3 from our team are concerned - needs no re-writing at all as it is 100% correct and complete, being based on wartime original records as well as a list compiled by Alfred Heckmann himself many years ago.

The simple solution of this seemingly mysterious photo is that the aircraft behind Alfred Heckmann was not his personal mount but that of - in all likelihood - Hptm. Rolf Hermichen, then his Staffelkapitän. Although some of his early victories claimed as a Zerstörer-pilot are still shrouded in mystery, he is one of very few - and exclusively - Zerstörer-pilots who had a confirmed claim against a Swiss a/c ( claimed in June 1940 ) and he opened his score list with a Dutch ( not Checoslovakian ! ) a/c. The number and positioning of his claims in the East also fits with the tally on the Fw 190's rudder.

This has already been sorted out with Axel Urbanke who will get additional information and a copy of the a/m document referring to Alfred Heckmann's claims so that he can elaborate in more depth in the next issue of LiF.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Jochen Prien

P.S.: ... and, Ed, thank you for your constant and unselfish service.